Sahara

Ruler	H.M Sultan Qaboos bin Said (1970)
Area	82,031 sq mi (212,460 sq km)
Geographic coordinates	21 00 N, 57 00 E, Oman is a 1,000-mile-long (1,700-km) coastal plain at the southeast tip of the Arabian Peninsula lying on the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The interior is a plateau
Location	Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE
Population	Omani - 1,826,124, Expatriate - 650,924, Total - 2,477,048 (Population based on the year 2001)
Capital	Muscat
Monetary unit	Omani Rial
Currency	1 Omani Rial (RO) = 1,000 Baiza
Exchange rates	Omani Rials (RO) per US$1 - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986)
Languages	Arabic (official); also English and Indian languages
Ethnicity/race	Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi) and African
Religion	Islam 95%
Land boundaries	Total: 1,374 km
Border countries	Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km
Coastline	2,092 km
Land and People	For the most part, Oman comprises a narrow coastal plain backed by hill ranges and an interior desert plateau. The highest point is Jebel Shams (c.9, 900 ft/3,018 m). In the extreme north, dates, limes, nuts, and vegetables are cultivated, and in the southwest there is an abundance of cattle and other livestock. Fishing is an important industry. The major product, however, is oil, which was discovered in Oman in 1964 and first exported in 1967. Natural gas production and small copper mines developed in the early 1980s and are a part of Oman's growing industries. The inhabitants are mostly Omani Arabs; there are also minorities of Pakistanis, Indians, Africans, Baluchis, and migrant workers of varied ethnicities.